A Bequest by Will

Your Will and Sandhills

Your Will is an important way to provide for family and friends, plan the orderly management and disposition of your estate, and ensure a lasting legacy for charitable institutions that have special meaning for you. Sandhills has benefited greatly from bequest gifts, both large and small, since its founding. Our benefactors continue to provide significant growth in our endowment and other important programs through their Wills.

A bequest to Sandhills can perpetuate your ties to the college and make you a participant in a lasting endeavor that enriches the lives of all those associated with it.

Why you should have a Will

To effectively plan for your family's financial security by:

Determining the distribution of your property.

Minimizing estate taxes.

Avoiding the intestacy statutes of your home state that provide for the distribution of your assets based upon an arbitrary formula.

Avoiding long delays in settling your estate.

Designating your children's guardians.

Important aspects of Federal tax law and your estate

Federal estate taxes continue to apply to sizable estates (estates over $2.0 million for 2008 and $3.5 million for 2009)

An unlimited marital deduction allows tax-free transfer of assets between you and your spouse during your lifetimes or by Will

Charitable gifts by Will are fully deductible for Federal estate tax purposes.

The financial security of knowing that your assets remain totally available to you during your lifetime.

Retained control over the final purpose of your assets.

The ability to establish a perpetual endowment fund in your own name or in honor of an another person.

Potential estate tax savings.

The honor and recognition of membership in the Legacy Benefactors at SCC.

The satisfaction that you have provided something special to ensure Sandhills' future.

Forms of Bequests

Outright bequests

Received directly by the Sandhills Community College Foundation when your estate is settled, such bequests can take several forms including:

A specific dollar amount

A specific property (securities, real estate, paintings, antiques)

A residuary amount (a portion or all your remaining estate after payment of specific bequests, debts, taxes and expenses)

Contingent bequests

Received by Sandhills only when your primary heir or heirs do not survive you.

Testamentary Trust

A bequest that funds a lifetime income for your surviving spouse or another beneficiary before the principal comes to Sandhills.

Making a bequest to Sandhills

You can provide for Sandhills by simply modifying your current Will through the execution of a Codicil, or by writing a new Will. You can also name the Sandhills Community College Foundation as a beneficiary of a revocable trust or life insurance policy. The services of an attorney who is knowledgeable in estate planning is recommended for writing or revising your Will.

For a sample wording of an outright Bequest by Will to Sandhills Community College, click here.